Misspellings are triggered by the use of social networks

Social networks and the use of chat rooms to communicate quickly with family and friends has meant that most of the children and young people do not pay attention to the spelling mistakes and write in any way when communicating on social networks.

The age at the beginning of the use of the mobile phone with an Internet connection continues to fall continuously. According to a recent study carried out by Global Kids online which is entitled 'Children's rights in the digital age', Spanish teenagers who are now 15 years old had their first smartphone with 12, while at the moment those who are between 9 and 10 had their first phone with 7 years.


The use of social networks such as Facebook and of chats such as WhatsApp directly affects children's reading and writing and the most negative is in spelling. The spelling mistakes that are discussed in these conversations are the result of the immediacy that the digital age requires: we try to write as fast as we speak and the way is to use abbreviations, shorten words, call things by their acronyms or express ourselves through emoticons.

Wrong display: memorization of misspelled words

The positive data of the use of digital technology in our conversations with friends and family is that we currently write and read much more than a few years ago, but the negative part is that we interact through a screen and we see more frequently erroneous expressions Y spelling mistakes that are stored in our retina.


"The adults that we have assumed the spelling rules We are easily aware of these big flaws and it immediately bothers us, but when this happens among the children the consequence is that the erroneous visualization leads them to memorize those misspelled words and thus constantly spelling mistakes ", explains Virginia Ricoy, co-founder of Walinwa.

Now in summer, the consumption of social networks among the youngest is increased and the number of hours that the little ones devote to reading and learning due to school vacations decreases. In particular, the use of Facebook increases by 67%, according to data from an Adglow study. So there are almost 3 months in which they see many misspellings and misspelled words that they internalize.

"Visual memory is very strong in children and is a mechanism to internalize well or poorly written words.If you see them constantly misspelled and misspellings on the Internet, it will be easy for them to remember them as well and they write them as well. However, this same visual memory can be used in a positive way, making the little ones always see the words well written and memorize them correctly, "says Ricoy.


The most common misspellings in social networks

"Among the misspellings that we make the most when we write in social networks and chats are the absence of accents, eliminate punctuation marks and confusion between 'to see 'and' have ',' a 'and' ha 'or' Ay! ',' there 'and' there '. Without a doubt, to avoid it, it is best to read ... but read books, not social networks, work on spelling with the little ones and review everything we write on social networks. It is true that in summer it is difficult to put a child to study, but if you are looking for a fun method and do not need a lot of time every day, children can be attracted and be constant in learning, "says Roberto Salvador, co-founder of Walinwa .

To attract the attention of children, there are applications to learn spelling that can be used with that technology that they like so much to improve their writing, dedicating only 10 to 15 minutes a day. The system is based on observation, classification, logical thinking, comparison and ordering.

Marisol Nuevo Espín
Advice: Roberto Salvador, co-founder of Walinwa

Video: Social Media Trends - Live English Learning - Christmas Lights - 9/12/18


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